Port Douglas
A small town between two World Heritage sites, Four Mile Beach in front, the Daintree behind, reef boats at the marina, and Cairns down the coast road.
- Arrival
- Cairns · CNS
- To the town
- North from Cairns on the coast road
- Private jets
- Through Cairns
- Best time
- May to October
The city
Where the rainforest meets the reef.
Port Douglas is the town closest to the two World Heritage sites of the far north: the Great Barrier Reef offshore and the Daintree inland, where the forest runs down to the coast at Cape Tribulation. Macrossan Street holds more than sixty restaurants and cafés; at the rebuilt Reef Marina, the day boats load for the outer reef. The Kuku Yalanji and Yirraganydji peoples are the custodians of this country.
From May to October the air dries out, afternoons reach 26 to 30 °C and the sea stays warm. The wet season runs through summer and autumn, with more than 400 mm of rain in each of the first three months, though it seldom rains all day.
- Four Mile Beach Golden sand left largely undeveloped, with rock pools at the northern end and Flagstaff Hill above.
- Mossman Gorge A river gorge in the Daintree, walked with its Traditional Custodians on the Ngadiku Dreamtime Walk.
- Cape Tribulation Where the rainforest reaches the sea, at the end of the drive north beside the reef.
Arriving
Cairns, then the coast road.
Cairns is the airport for the region, with international and domestic terminals. From there the Great Barrier Reef Drive runs north between the mountains and the sea.
- Brisbane 2 h 15
- Sydney 3 h 00
- Melbourne 3 h 25
- Tokyo 7 h 50 long-range jet
- Dubai 14 h 10 long-range jet
When to go
May to October.
Hot and humid in the wet season, warm and drier from May to October. The first three months of the year bring more than 400 mm of rain each. In the dry months highs stay between 26 and 30 °C.
- 32° J 424 29°
- 31° F 417 29°
- 31° M 402 28°
- 29° A 205 27°
- 28° M 80 25°
- 26° J 46 24°
- 26° J 29 23°
- 27° A 27 23°
- 28° S 33 24°
- 30° O 40 26°
- 32° N 108 27°
- 32° D 186 28°
Where to stay
In the rainforest, on a reef island, in the outback.
Shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these hotels.
- Silky Oaks Lodge Timber suites set out into the trees above the river, with hammocks, stone baths and, in some, a fireplace open to the forest.
- Lizard Island Resort Forty rooms on an island ringed by coral and twenty-four white beaches, and the only hotel in Queensland with three MICHELIN Keys.
- Mt Mulligan Lodge Fourteen tents and pavilions on a 70,000-acre cattle station in the outback.
Where to dine
Hatted tables, in town and in the forest.
No MICHELIN Guide covers Queensland. Three of these tables hold a Chef Hat in the Australian Good Food Guide; the fourth is the restaurant of Silky Oaks Lodge.
- Harrisons Australian Good Food Guide, Chef Hat Contemporary Australian, set menu $$$$ Sheraton Grand Mirage, Port Douglas
- Jungle Fowl Australian Good Food Guide, Chef Hat Thai banquet, own farm $$$$ Port Douglas
- Nautilus Australian Good Food Guide, Chef Hat Tasting menu, seafood $$$$ Port Douglas, in a tropical garden
- Treehouse Restaurant Signature restaurant, Silky Oaks Lodge Contemporary Australian Silky Oaks Lodge, above the Mossman River, about 11 km north-west
Elsewhere in Australia
More reasons to come.
- Sydney Bondi and the northern beaches, and a harbour crossed by ferry.
- Melbourne Coffee, theatre, and the Australian Open in January.
- Hamilton Island A resort island with its own airport, and Heart Reef a seaplane ride away.
- Uluru Sacred to its Anangu owners, and the desert all around it.
- Perth The most isolated big city in the world, on the Indian Ocean.
Flying to Port Douglas?
Choose how you arrive.
A Business or First Class seat on a scheduled airline, or an aircraft of your own. Tell us the date and how many are travelling, and we reply with one final price, our margin included.